Keith Vaz set to join the Justice select committee despite stepping down as Home Affairs chair

Keith Vaz is set to join the House of Commons committee which oversees the justice system despite an ongoing investigation into his involvement in an alleged rent boy scandal.

The Labour MP is understood to have put his name forward after he was forced to step down as the chair of the powerful Home Affairs select committee following the revelations earlier this year.

A Labour source said Mr Vaz, who is still under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Committee, was approved by Labour MPs after two members of the Justice committee stepped down to join the shadow cabinet.

Keith Vaz at the Labour Party Diversity Night party in Brighton in 2015 Credit:
Heathcliff O'Malley

One post remains unfilled and must be taken by a Labour member in order to maintain political balance on the committee, which exists to scrutinise issues around legal policy and fraud announced by the Government.

Mr Vaz resigned from the Home Affairs committee following newspaper reports that he paid two male escorts for their services and amid claims that he was guilty of a conflict of interest as he headed the committee's review into vice laws at the time of the allegations.

Labour MPs have approved the appointmentCredit:
PA

It is understood that his appointment to the Justice committee, for which will not be paid, will now be rubber-stamped by Commons officials and then moved in Parliament.

He will join the committee unless the Chair of appointments takes the highly unusual step of blocking his membership or if an MP objects in the Commons.

Bob Neill, the chair of the Justice committee, told the Telegraph: "My duty is to work with whoever the House appoints."

It is understood that he has not yet been officially informed of the appointment. Mr Vaz was contacted for comment but did not respond to requests.